Device in contact bodies for liquid and gas

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a contact body for liquid and gas, primarily for cooling towers and composed of corrugated layers with the corrugations in adjacent layers forming an angle relative each other and extending at an inclined angle towards a lower liquid discharge edge formed with means to counteract collection of liquid resulting from the combined effect of surface tension in the liquid and the upwardly streaming gas. To improve the discharge flow of the liquid two adjacent layers of the contact body are in pairs at their edges cut obliquely so as together to form an inverted V, viewed in the surface extension of said layers. Between each such pair of layers a third layer having a transversely cut lower edge is provided and formed with a prolongation terminating in said transversely cut lower edge and extending for a distance below the layers formed with the obliquely cut edges.

United States Patent 1 Norba'ck DEVICE IN CONTACT BODIES FOR LIQUID ANDGAS [7 5] Inventor: Per Gunnar Norbiick, Lidingo,

Sweden [73] Assignee: Aktiebolaget Carl Munters,

Sollentuna, Sweden 221 Filed: Mar. 24, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 127,663

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data [111 3,738,626 June 12, 19733,526,393 9/1970 Meek 261/112 Primary Examiner-Tim R. Miles AssistantExaminer-Steven l-l. Markowitz Attorney-Munson & Fiddler [57] ABSTRACTThe invention relates to a contact body for liquid and gas, primarilyfor cooling towers and composed of corrugated layers with thecorrugations in adjacent layers forming an angle relative each other andextending at an inclined angle towards a lower liquid discharge edgeformed with means to counteract collection of liquid resulting from thecombined effect of surface tension in the liquid and the upwardlystreaming gas. To improve the discharge flow of the liquid two adjacentlayers of the contact body are in pairs at their edges cut obliquely soas together to form an inverted V, viewed in the surface extension ofsaid layers Between each such pair of layers a third layer having atransversely cut lower edge is provided and formed with a prolongationterminating in said transversely cut lower edge and extending for adistance below the layers formed with the obliquely cut edges.

1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEU M 2 a, 7 3a, 62 6 sum 1 or 2' 1.e 50M2 1s PER GUNNAR NORBACK, Inventor MUNSON & FIDDLER,

Attorneys.

PATENTED JUN 1 2 3, 738 626 PER GUNNAR NORBAGK, Inventor.

MUNSON & FIUDLL-ZR.

DEVICE IN CONTACT BODIES FOR LIQUID AND GAS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to a contact body for liquid (water) and gas(air), primarily for cooling towers, said body being composed ofcorrugated layers, the corrugations of which in adjacent layers form anangle relative each other and extend at an inclined angle towards alower liquid discharge edge where they are formed so as to counteractcollection of liquid due to the combined effect of surface tension andthe upwardly streaming gas. A shape of this kind for the lower liquiddischarge edge of the contact body or insert is disclosed in, e.g., theUS. Pat. No. 2,809,818. There are also already known contact bodies orinserts in which all layers are corrugated or folded with folds inadjacent lay-. ers crossing one another.

A collection of water in a cooling tower at the lower edge of thecontact body or insert, if allowed to develop undisturbed, may result inthe channels between the layers being clogged by water in a pulsingmanner, said clogging in turn being broken up by the air stream raisingfrom below with the result that the required pressure drop for theadvance of the air is highly increased, resulting in an increase of thecosts of operation and a lowering of the capacity of the cooling tower.It is possible to reduce such an overbridging by water by increasing theheight of the folds or corrugations of the layers, but then the capacityof the contact body or insert within a certain volume is deteriorated inthe same degree. At the other hand, modern cooling towers areconstructed for steadily increasing air velocities such as 3 to 4 metersper second together with a water quantity of, e.g., to tons per squaremeter per hour, which implies extremely high requirements on the shapeof the liquid discharge edge. It has thus proved that a disturbingoverbridging can occur in the structures hitherto used with still sogreat a height of the folds or corrugations as 20 millimeters.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The main object of the invention is to improvethe contact body in said respect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a main feature of the inventionadjacent layers of the contact body of the type in consideration are inpairs at their edges cut obliquely so as together to form an inverted Vviewed in the surface extension of the layers and that between each suchpair a layer with a transversely cut lower edge is provided, said layerand edge extending downwards for a distance below the layers having theobliquely cut endedges. Hereby sufficiently great open interspacesbetween the layers are obtained so that the water can not bridge overthem but instead is mainly drained off along the extended layers havingtheir downwards projecting, transversely cut edge portions. In addition,the advantage is gained that the extended layers can carry the weight ofthe contact body when this body rests on relatively narrow supportswithout becoming damaged or dented.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further objects and advantages of theinvention will become apparent from the following description,considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, which form partof this specification and of which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a cooling towerprovided with a contact body made according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a portion of the lower part of thecontact body viewed in the surface extension of the layers.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lower portion of four layers whichfor improved clearness are partially cut away.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the embodimentillustrated in the drawings a contact body or insert 10 isencased by acasing 12 which at the bottom forms a water collecting basin 14. Belowthe contact body the casing is formed with openings or apertures 16 foradmittance of air which passes in upward direction through the contactbody 10 and escapes through an outlet 18 within which a fan 20 with adriving motor 22 is provided. Water is supplied to the contact body 10from above through a distributor 24 having discharge holes 26 formed atits underside.

The contact body 10 consists of thin layers which all are formed withfolds or corrugations and placed vertically. The folds or corrugations28,30 cross one another in adjacent layers with an angle of 45 or less,preferably 25 to 40 relative the vertical plane. The layers abut againstone another and are at their points of contact glued together by meansof a suitable adhesive. Water and air flow in countercurrent through thecontact body 10. Between the layers in the contact body channels orpassages extending from end to end are formed in both the horizontal andthe vertical directions with continuously varying width from zero at theplaces of contact between the layers to the double height of the foldsor corrugations. The height of the folds or corrugations may be in therange from 5 to 25 millimeters and is preferably from 10 to 15 or 20millimeters and the width of the channels varies over the entire surfaceof the layers between zero and the double height of the folds orcorrugations.

The layers are preferably made of fibres of cellulose or an inorganicmaterial such as asbestos. Paper layers of cellulose or asbestos becomemoisture-proof by impregnation with a substance suited to this purpose,e.g., a resin such as phenol resin or melamine resin. The layers mayalso be made of plastic material.

The layers are according to the invention at their lower edges formedwith liquid discharge flaps and therebetween interspaces of suchmagnitude that also very great quantities of water and velocities of aircan be permitted without any risk of plugging the openings of the loweredge, even if the height of the corrugations or folds is relativelylittle.

For this purpose, adjacent layers 32, 34 are in pairs formed withobliquely cut edges 36 or 38, respectively, said edges facing oneanother in such a manner as together to form an inverted V. Between eachsuch-pair of layers another layer 40 is provided the lower edge 42 ofwhich is cut off transversely with an angle of or an insignificantinclination towards the horizontal plane. In addition, the layers 40extend for some dis tance below the lowermost points of the layers 32,34 and in this way interspaces 44 are formed which are sufficiently wideto permit undisturbed passage of the upwardly streaming air.- The waterfollows at least to its greater portion the obliquely cut flap edges 36,38 to continue along the extended layers 40.

The contact body 10 is carried by supports 46 (FIG. 1) against which itbears with the horizontal lower edges 42 of the downwards projectinglayers 40. These edges are given sufficient supporting capacity to takeup the weight of the contact body or insert with water and in some casesice adhering thereto, for which reason special reinforcements can bedispensed with. Often it is, however, appropriate to provide the endportions of the downwards projecting layers 40 with a coating of asubstance such as a plastic material which imparts to the layersincreased mechanical strength and toughness.

The cooled water is drawn off from the water collecting basin 14 througha conduit 47 having a valve 48 provided therein, to the place ofutilization to be returned to the distributor 24 in a manner known perse. The water level in the collecting basin is controlled by a float 50so as to cause fresh water to be supplied for replacing losses causedby, e.g., evaporation within the contact body.

While one more or less specific embodiment of the invention has beenshown and described, it is to be understood that this is for purpose ofillustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited thereby,but its scope is to be determined by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

l. A contact body for liquid (water) and gas (air), primarily forcooling towers, said body being composed of corrugated layers, thecorrugations of which in adjacent layers form an angle relative eachother and extend at an inclined angle towards a lower liquid dischargeedge where they are formed so as to counteract collection of liquid dueto the combined effect of surface tension and the upwardly streaminggas, characterized in that adjacent layers are in pairs at their edgescut obliquely so as together to form an inverted V viewed in the surfaceextension of the layers and that between each such pair a layer having atransversely cut lower edge is provided, said layer and edge extendingdownwards for a distance below the layers having the obliquely cutedges.

1. A contact body for liquid (water) and gas (air), primarily forcooling towers, said body being composed of corrugated layers, thecorrugations of which in adjacent layers form an angle relative eachother and extend at an inclined angle towards a lower liquid dischargeedge where they are formed so as to counteract collection of liquid dueto the combined effect of surface tension and the upwardly streaminggas, characterized in that adjacent layers are in pairs at their edgescut obliquely so as together to form an inverted V viewed in the surfaceextension of the layers and that between each such pair a layer having atransversely cut lower edge is provided, said layer and edge extendingdownwards for a distance below the layers having the obliquely cutedges.